“Look around, we’re all liars here”
– Littlefinger, Game of Thrones
Think about some of the best liars you know. They are able to create false worlds to the point that they make them believable for others. They are usually fast thinkers and the best (worst?) liars are the ones who are believed.
Depending on how you use it, that’s got the potential to be a very negative use of creativity. And has nothing to do with being artistic. It can help someone get ahead in life, progress in their career, cover up mistakes and make them seem like someone they are not.
Now, I’m not condoning lying at all but you can see how creativity is not always for an artistic and beneficial outcome.
And depending on how you use lying? Margaret Atwood introduced herself earlier this year at the Storyteller’s Ball as “a professional liar” and went on to explain that “stories” are a euphemism for lying (don’t tell stories).
Become a professional liar
When you think about it, that is what writers do: they create worlds with their words. For this to work, it needs to have an inkling of truth in it. Atwood again said that The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t science fiction because everything in it has been done against women at some point or another in history.
It’s easy to see the link between lying and fiction but what about our business writing? Surely that’s factual, in the real realm and more akin to journalism.
For the most part, yes it is but at the same time we’re writing for a particular audience. We are telling a story. Whether that’s about our brand, ourselves or our products. That story isn’t necessarily lying but we put on our best face, we don’t show the full truth and we give it the best angle to garner the best results.
Journalism is a great example here to demonstrate how the same set of facts can be reported in different ways. For right or wrong, it is done this way because that’s what the audience wants to read. Their truth – or worldview – is reflected back at them in the publications they read. However unpalatable that may be to me.
Will Storr argues in his book, The Science of Storytelling, that we aim to control our lives and we will hunt out views that reinforce our truth and way of thinking. In fiction, this is the character’s downfall and the motivation behind every decision they make.
In reality, we only have a small perception of the world around us. We see and hear what makes us feel safe.
Confirmation bias
This plays out in our work writing through confirmation bias. We actively look for information, research and data that back up our hypothesis.
Some months ago I wrote a newsletter about procrastination. I wanted to argue that mundane tasks and staring out of the window were actually beneficial to the writing process.
What I found were lots of studies which supported the idea that if you were a student or employee and were procrastinating then it was pretty bad for productivity or attainment.
But hidden in all research was some data about how mundane tasks can help your creative thinking. So I used this in the article, while also acknowledging that there was plenty of research which said otherwise. I had to adjust my angle according to the data. That was the lie which I told myself at the time. Really, what I had was a big case of confirmation bias.
I hunted out the research until I found something that backed up my argument. It didn’t make the article any less valid. My points were definitely backed up by empirical research but I had confirmation bias in my process.
Interestingly, Victoria Tretis covered this same subject from a different angle last month and found far more interesting data than I ever did and better addresses the kind of procrastination that is beneficial.
Benefits of confirmation bias
The point is that confirmation bias can work in two ways. It can be beneficial for your writing because there is usually a study which can back up your point. Although it might be an outlier from the rest of the data out there it still exists.
It can also be detrimental because you’re not looking at the whole story, you’re only telling the side that you want to. It’s easy to ignore the evidence which means you might have to rip up your first draft and start again. But you probably should do it.
The other upside of confirmation bias is that, like the newspapers, you are reflecting a worldview back to your audience. Your audience is more likely to be attracted to you if you write for and speak directly to them.
In the same way that values prop up what you do within your business and attract others with the same values towards you.
We are all liars
Okay maybe that is a bit dramatic but we all want to create our own worlds where what we say is the truth only if it’s the truth through a particular lens. And we can use this to our advantage when it comes to writing our content.
It’s about standing by your opinions and experience to leverage that for better copy. When you create your own world that includes your community, audience and clients, you find it easier to make connections. Whether that’s connections through content like a newsletter, blog or podcast or through building that network by talking to people online or in real life.
It means you can find better angles for your work and make it more relevant and powerful. Be more like Atwood and create worlds that are steeped in experience and truth but are meaningful for your audience.
Telling stories helps you connect with people and when they can see themselves in those stories, it means they are more likely to be a part of your world.